"For 25 years, the anchor – a gift from Chatham Dockyard – was the only visible reminder of Deptford's rich, unique and international maritime history.

"High Street renovation works required the removal of both the anchor and its plinth, but a survey carried out prior to these regeneration works found that 84% of respondents wanted it to remain in Deptford.

"Since the completion of the renovation works, and more than two years since its removal, the anchor has still not been reinstated and the council has not made any plans for its future."

The anchor took the blame for the preponderance of street drinking that used to take place at that end of Deptford High Street, but there's nothing intrinsically drunkard-attracting about a large anchor - it was the pedestal it used to sit on that was the problem.

The new streetscape could happily accommodate the return of the anchor, sans pedestal, in the way depicted in the petitioners' image above.

It's time to bring back the anchor, so we can all move on with our lives and focus on what else Deptford needs.